European shares steady following worst day since December

European shares steadied on Thursday after logging their worst day since last December on the slapping of U.S. tariffs on a raft of European exports, with a bounce for Airbus and luxury goods makers pushing main indexes back into the black.

The blue-chip and wider STOXX 600 pan-European indexes sank almost 3% on Wednesday after the World Trade Organization approved 10% tariffs on European-made Airbus planes and 25% duties on goods ranging from French wine to Scotch whisky.

After the initial shock of the decision, however, read as threatening a new transatlantic trade war, many analysts said that the detailed list of products affected showed the actual economic impact of the tariffs should be minimal.

Shares of Airbus, down 2% on Wednesday, jumped 4.5% in early trade, as the list - published after European markets closed on Wednesday - showed it had exempted some Airbus parts.

The broader pan-European STOXX 600 index edged 0.1% higher, with the food & beverage sector leading gains with a 0.9% rise. Growth worries continue to dog markets. Data on Thursday showed euro zone business growth stalled in September, suggesting that a contraction in manufacturing activity was increasingly spilling over to the services industry. A prolonged tit-for-tat trade war between Washington and Beijing and worsening outlook for a quarterly earnings season that is just getting underway has hurt European sentiment after a bullish September.

Asian stocks tumbled to a onemonth low on Thursday as already-growing market fears about global growth were fanned by the United State announcement of new import tariffs on products from the European Union.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.60%. Japan’s Nikkei stock index closed down 2.00%, the biggest one-day decline since Aug. 26. Australian shares slumped 2.07% to a five-week low.

Brent crude fell 0.21% to $57.60 per barrel. In addition to a slowing global economy, energy traders are worried about an oversupplied market and the chance of geopolitical friction in the Middle East.

This article was compiled by BOV Asset Management Limited, a member of the BOV Group. BOV Asset Management,TG Complex, Suite 2, Level 3, Brewery Str., Mriehel BKR 3000. Email: infoassetmanagement@bov.com Internet address: www.bovassetmanagement.com. BOV Asset Management is licensed by the MFSA.